A song to think about.
When masked men snatch people from off a street in my home state of Massachusetts under the cloak of the "Government" then we need to re-evaluate our humanity.
I will not stand for that. No matter how bad that person may have been. They are still a human and deserve due process. Period. In this case, it was because she spoke out for other humans.
Standing up for our fellow humans. It is what separates us from Nazis.
A good friend of mine from the UK and I were discussing my Napoleonic Imagi-Nation project centered around the Duchy of Arancia, an Italianate statelet. I was looking for artillery crews and some mounted generals to finish off some units.
Neil asked a few questions and he emailed me back with an offer to sculpt a couple of officers out of FIMO modelling clay. We settled on a "heroic" figure and a "reluctant" figure.
Today, these lads arrived at the Ducal estate.
My Imagi-Nation Project for the Portable Napoleonic Wargame rules has been moving slowly, but steadily onward. The other night I finally finished the first line unit (of two battalions) for the Duchy of Arancia, my Italianate statelet for this project.
Please welcome, the Regiment di Camedirapa...
The rather shocking green of the bases, I was hoping would tone down after the paint dried. It didn't. But I don't feel like repainting it and I think for a cheap craft bottle of paint, "it'll do, donkey..."
Regimental (or Brigade) Command Stand
Avanti Arancia!
Why an Italian theme? Why a Napoleonic Imagi-Nation?
Quite frankly I got tired of all the 18th century German states named after beer, cheese, and sausages. I'm still working on a decent backstory. The figures themselves are a combination of job lot purchase and donation by a friend from the Society of Daisy. These are 25mm old Minifigs that were part of the job lot.
I think they look the part, but then again, I painted them. 😁
About the organization. I wanted the "two stand, three figures each" from TPNW, but I also wanted the option to play "A Gentleman's War" which recommends 12 or so figures for a "unit". This will allow me to do both, since I painted up two groups of six figures as a regiment/brigade formation.
Aren't I so smart.
Of course, that means I need to do the same for the pile of other figures still needing paint.
Right. Off I go, then.
Avanti Arancia!
Another week has flown by here in the Duchy. False Spring seems to be giving way to Real Spring.
Instead of updating this blog, I really should be working on my paper for class. A deadline is looming and I am loafing... Well maybe not loafing. Half a loaf.
Yesterday, I was able to get to my Club's Games Day. The Del-Val Gamers meet once a month or so in the basement of a church in Delaware County. For $10USD, it's an all-day series of games.
We had a well-attended affair with several offerings.
Mark Z., in the light blue W.A.M.P. club shirt, ran a beautiful 28mm AWI game using Black Powder.
Painting and Crafting area was busy all day.
A rather large 1809 game run by Scott W. that had some beautifully painted figures.
Fellow Rogues member Jeff K. ran a 28mm Eastern Front game with a train using Chain of Command.
I had the good fortune to play in Cliff B.'s Battle of Moravian Town from the War of 1812.
Naturally, I played the British/Canadian/First Nations side, as both Henry Proctor and Tecumseh. We played using Shako II rules and 15mm figures. This was testing out Shako II's use of rules for First Nations warriors. They worked out okay.
Historically, the battle was a massive defeat for the Crown, with Tecumseh being killed, his alliance falling apart, and Proctor's army falling back in even greater disorder and low morale.
Though I lost, I gave the Yankee Doodles a sound thrashing and my iteration of Tecumseh lived to fight another day.
Can't lie, though. My dice rolling was horrific. Five out of eight turns, this was how my artillery rolled.
And at yet another critical moment...
But I can't complain. It was great to see some friends and to get out of the house for a few hours. I had brought my ACW ironclads to run in the afternoon, but I was completely spent after the game, so I drifted off home instead.
Now, time to be off and get back to my paper.
More anon.
So it's that time of month for those who belong to my organization of part-time and sometimes full-time Soldiers,
to gather and do whatever it is we do... But one thing we can count on, the weather forecast will be absolute rubbish.
My Google Weather said it was going to be clear and 40 deg F here in Jericho, VT....
Not bad, except for the blowing snowstorm...
But I did bring a new addition to the Ducal Library to help consol my crabby self. Another book dedicated to my Quasi War with France thesis.
And it is indeed a cold Sunday morning here in the Duchy. I suppose I'll take a brisk walk later, though, to work off the calories I've consumed this weekend.
So, how was the convention? Was it worth the slightly more than two-hour drive and the cost of three nights in a hotel?
The short answer, is, yes, it was worth it. The slightly longer answer is, but I need to better plan my hobby time overall.
The Eisenhower complex is very spread out, fortunately, my club's area was in the main ballroom/conference room area. But some folks were truly spread out throughout the hotel. So, some folks did do a fair amount of walking.
The standard of the games was excellent. There were some truly wonderful ones to look at.
A small sampling:
The Battle of Wyse Forks in 54mm by Bill Molyneaux.
Also in the same area, a game called "the Battle of the Silk Road, Weird Science in the Ancient World"
There some very fun light-hearted games, like a Western Gunfight with large Playmobil figures.
Tom U. put on this magnificent Battle of Red Bank, NJ game from the AWI. The modelling was phenomenal.
A giant game with Vikings. There was another with Romans versus Cherusci and another with Dark Age Irish crashing about the table.
The theme for Cold Wars was "American Civil War - 1865" and Mark Z. ran this good sized game on Saylor's Creek. I particularly love the railroad bridge.
Finally, I was able to run my game on Saturday afternoon after spending the morning manning my table in the flea market. I had eight, including two kids, a brother and sister, who played with their dad and uncle. The kids each walked away with a painted gunboat each. They were good kids. It was a fun, but short game. The Union Navy did much, much better than I expected.
And I got an award...
Thanks go to Frank Preziosa, the Convention Director, and his team who did a great job putting Cold Wars together.
Finis.
A song to think about. When masked men snatch people from off a street in my home state of Massachusetts under the cloak of the "Gove...
